Hamilton teen arrested in school threat investigation; more arrests to come: police

A 14-year-old Hamilton female was arrested Thursday (June 2) after several threats were made at elementary and high school schools throughout the city.

She was charged with mischief and released on an undertaking.

Police say the female was behind threats made towards St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Secondary School, located on Acadia Dr. in the area of Rymal Rd. and Sherman Ave.

More arrests are expected to be made in the coming days.

Several schools across Hamilton continue to receive threats — typically written on a surface inside the buildings.

“Hamilton Police recognize the importance of school safety and how a threat of this nature can be difficult for students, staff and their families,” said the service. “Police take incidents like these extremely seriously and will continue to work closely with the school boards to help identify the individuals responsible and lay the appropriate criminal charges when suspects are identified.”

While Hamilton Police didn’t explicitly connect the events locally to the school shooting in Uvalde, the sudden spike in threats began soon after the events in Texas, where 21 elementary students and teachers were killed by a gunman on May 24, 2022.

Experts have studied the phenomenon known as the “Columbine Effect,” in which highly publicized shootings appear to inspire similar threats or incidents.